JOHN W. CARY was the lineal descendant in the fifth
generation of John Cary, who came from Somersetshire, near Bristol, England, in 1634, and
joined the Plymouth Colony, and a son of Asa Cary, who was born in Mansfield, Connecticut,
in 1774.He was born February 11, 1817, in
Shoreham, Vermont.Fourteen years later, his
parents removed to western New York, where he attended the common school, assisting his
father on the farm until, at the age of twenty, he entered Union College.He supported himself through college, and was
graduated with the Class of 1842.Two years
later he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of New York, and followed his
profession in Wayne and Cayuga Counties until 1850, when he removed to Wisconsin, taking
up his residence at Racine.He took an active
interest in educational matters, and as a School Commissioner was instrumental in
developing the public-school system of Racine.He
was elected State Senator in 1852, and Mayor in 1857.Two years later he removed his home to Milwaukee, and was at once engaged as
solicitor and counsel to foreclose the mortgages given by the La Crosse & Milwaukee
Railroad Company.At the resulting sale, the
property was purchased by the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company (now the Chicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul), which he had incorporated, and of which he continued as the
legal adviser and one of the controlling spirits to the day of his death, a period of
thirty-six years.Until 1887 he was the
General Solicitor of that company, at which time the Board of Directors created the office
of General Counsel, and he was then chosen to that position, which he continued to fill up
to the time of his death.He was not only the
legal adviser of that company, counseling on all questions and conducting all its
litigation, in which he was eminently successful, especially before the Supreme Court of
the United States, but during all that time he was the chief counselor and adviser of the
general policy of the company.He stood high
in the legal profession, and was regarded by all as one of the best equipped railway
lawyers in the country.Some of the cases in
which he appeared as counsel before the Supreme Court of the United States, and in which
he was successful, rank among the most notable cases of that court.He argued before that court what is known as the
Milk Rate case, which was the case of the State of Minnesota against the Chicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, decided in April, 1890.The magnitude of that case, both as regards the
principle involved and the moneyed interest affected, places it by the side of such cases
as the Dartmouth College case, the case of McCulloch versus Maryland, and the
Slaughter House cases.The Supreme Court in
that case held, as Mr. Cary had for many years contended, that the reasonableness of a
rate of charge for transportation of property by a railroad company was a question of
judicial determination, rather than of arbitrary legislative action, and that State
Legislatures, in fixing the rates of freight, must fix reasonable rates; that is, rates
which are compensatory, such as will permit carriers to receive reasonable profits upon
their invested capital, the same as other persons are permitted to receive.

The success of Mr. Cary in this case is all the more notable from the fact
that fifteen years previously he appeared as counsel for the St. Paul Company in what are
known as the Granger cases, in which that court declined to adopt the rule which it
afterwards established in the Milk Rate case.

Of the members of that court at the time the Granger cases were argued, but
one remains, Justice Field, and of the leading counsel who appeared in those cases all
have passed away except William M. Evarts.It
is a notable fact that Mr. Cary survived every justice who was a member of that court at
the time of his first appearance therein, as well as the leading lawyers who were
practicing in that court at that time.

It is told of Mr. Cary that he successfully argued fourteen cases during
one session of the Supreme Court, against such men as Caleb Cushing, Matt H. Carpenter,
Henry A. Cram, of New York, and other eminent men.

In 1872, while a member of the Wisconsin State Legislature, he was
requested to draw a general railroad law for the state, which he did, and the statute
which he prepared was adopted and is still in force, and has passed into history as one of
the most important laws ever enacted in Wisconsin, and is regarded by all as a law fair
both to the people and the railway companies.

No person in the State of Wisconsin was better or more favorably known than
Mr. Cary.His reputation as a lawyer of
marked abilities, and his character for candor and integrity as a man, were enviable.At all times and everywhere he maintained the
honor of his profession and the majesty of the law.Those
who knew him best respected him the most.

He always took a great interest in political affairs, and was unusually
well versed in national and political history.Throughout
his entire manhood he was a devoted adherent of Democracy, receiving in 1864 the
nomination for Congress, and upon several occasions the complimentary vote of the
Legislature for United States Senator.During
the long period in which the Democratic party was in the minority, which covered nearly
the whole of his maturer years, Mr. Cary remained steadfast in his loyalty to its
principles.But for this fact his name would
undoubtedly have found place on the pages of history among the most eminent statesmen of
his generation.A man of vast mental
endowment, clear of judgment, and true as the needle to the pole was he to the right as he
saw the right.

He resided in Milwaukee until 1890, when the general offices of the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company were removed to Chicago.At this time he removed his home to Hinsdale, a
suburb of Chicago, where he resided until his death, which occurred in Chicago on March
29, 1895.

In 1844 Mr. Cary was married to Eliza Vilas, who died in 1845, leaving a
daughter, Eliza.In 1847 he was married to
Isabel Brinkerhoff.He has seven children
living, namely: Eliza, who is the wife of Sherburn Sanborn; Frances, the widow of Charles
D. Kendrick; Melbert B., Fred A., John W., Jr., George P. and Paul V.

In his intercourse with his fellow-men, and with his associates in
professional labor, he was always considerate and gentle.No unkind or reproachful word ever passed his lips.He was true and faithful in friendship,
magnanimous in his dealings with others, and every act was prompted by the highest sense
of honor.He was modest and unassuming,
simple and unaffected in manner, and admired, trusted and loved by all who knew him.

In his family and home life
He was all sunshine; in his face
The very soul of sweetness shone.